How dietary habits helped solve India murder case

New Delhi - The murder of a man and an attempt to steal his identity was uncovered when the impersonator chose vegetarian food at a hospital, police in southern India said Wednesday.

Family members of Sudhakar Reddy were surprised when "he" refused non-vegetarian food at a hospital in Hyderabad where he was admitted after an acid attack, local police official Kamleswar Shingvenar said.

The family complained to the police that he may be a different person, leading authorities to the alleged murderers, Shingvenar said.

Sudhakar Reddy's wife, Swathi Reddy, and her lover Rajesh Ajakole have now been accused of the murder in the town of Nagarkurnool in Telangana state.

According to police investigations, the pair of lovers - Swati Reddy and Rajesh Ajakole - allegedly killed Swathi's husband Sudhakar Reddy on the night of November 26 and disposed of his body in a local forest. In an attempt to stage an attack, they then poured acid on the male lover Rajesh Ajakole's face.

Ajakole, his face swathed in bandages, posed as Sudhakar Reddy and Swathi Reddy, a trained nurse, told her husband's family he had been attacked at their home by intruders and needed plastic surgery.

They admitted him to a hospital in Hyderabad for treatment, police said, but Sudhakar Reddy's family members were suspicious as his height and body structure seemed different.

When Rajesh Ajakole refused non-vegetarian food at the hospital, including mutton soup, Sudhakar Reddy's family lodged a complaint with the police as he had apparently liked non-vegetarian food.

Swathi Reddy was arrested Sunday and Rajesh Reddy would be arrested once he is discharged from the hospital, Shingvenar said.